Page 1977 - Week 05 - Thursday, 6 May 2010
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Ms Gallagher: I am advised that the answers to the member’s questions are as follows:
(1) As part of its Capital Upgrades Program, ACT Health has allocated funds for works associated with reducing energy usage and environmental sustainability. These include:
(a) the installation of more energy efficient hot water systems in community facilities;
(b) improved metering systems;
(c) window-tinting to buildings 5 and 12 at the Canberra Hospital; and
(d) upgrade to the building 6 heating and cooling control system at the Canberra Hospital.
Additionally, as a component of its cyclical maintenance program, ACT Health typically upgrades electrical and plumbing fittings to latest energy or water efficient standards, wherever replacement is assessed as being necessary.
(2) The cost of each individual sustainability measure is not tracked separately, but is a component of overall capital upgrades project costs or the agency’s recurrent maintenance budget, as applicable.
(3) ACT Health supports and participates in the Australian Government Department of Climate Change benchmarking through the Online System for Comprehensive Activity Reporting (OSCAR) database. OSCAR standardises the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions to produce comparable datasets regarding environmental performance. Data is gathered on a whole of agency basis and not tracked to individual efficiency measures.
(4) A range of water saving strategies has been implemented, such as:
(a) the installation of flow restrictors and six-star energy-rating plumbing fixtures;
(b) progressively implementing drought-tolerant landscapes at all ACT Health facilities;
(c) installation of water meters on cooling towers;
(d) transition to microfiber floor mopping;
(e) the equipment and assets replaced under the agency’s cyclical assets replacement program includes assessment for water-efficiency and environmental impact; and
(f) Regular all-staff reminders to think of the environment and to actively participate in energy and water saving strategies in the workplace and at home.
(5) The cost of each individual water efficiency measure is not tracked separately, but is a component of overall capital upgrade project costs or the agency’s recurrent maintenance budget, as applicable.
(6) Water savings are not tracked on an individual efficiency measure basis, rather on a whole of agency level only. It is not possible to accurately track each efficiency measure due to increasing activity levels and associated increase of floor space, assets, bed numbers, theatres and patient throughput.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video